SCONCE

sconce. Sconce, n. a sort, hanging candlestick, lookingglass, the head

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Sconce (?), n. [[D. schans, OD. schantse, perhaps from OF. esconse a hiding place, akin to esconser to hide, L. absconsus, p. p. of abscondere. See Abscond, and cf. Ensconce, Sconce a candlestick.]] 1. 1. A fortification, or work for defense; a fort.
No sconce or fortress of his raising was ever known either to have been forced, or yielded up, or quitted. Milton. 2. 2. A hut for protection and shelter; a stall.
One that . . . must raise a sconce by the highway and sell switches. Beau. & Fl. 3. 3. A piece of armor for the head; headpiece; helmet.
I must get a sconce for my head. Shak. 4. 4. Fig.: The head; the skull; also, brains; sense; discretion.
To knock him about the sconce with a dirty shovel. Shak. 5. 5. A poll tax; a mulct or fine. Johnson.
6. 6. [[OF. esconse a dark lantern, properly, a hiding place. See Etymol. above.]] A protection for a light; a lantern or cased support for a candle; hence, a fixed hanging or projecting candlestick.
Tapers put into lanterns or sconces of several-colored, oiled paper, that the wind might not annoy them. Evelyn. Golden sconces hang not on the walls. Dryden. 7. 7. Hence, the circular tube, with a brim, in a candlestick, into which the candle is inserted.
8. 8. (Arch.) A squinch.
9. 9. A fragment of a floe of ice. Kane.
10. 10. [] A fixed seat or shelf.